xwing_miniatures_second_editionfandomcom-20200222-history
Talk:JumpMaster 5000/@comment-98.100.253.30-20190722165307/@comment-454133-20190722183229
Hi there! Sounds like a fun fleet. It's a 2-ship list (kinda 3 counting Lando) so it needs to be able to absorb or avoid damage pretty well, while dishing out lots of damage. It lacks the sheer volume of shots and hull of, say, a bulk list, so it needs to know when to bug out vs move in for blood. Given the right circumstances, Han can be a monster -- you're correct that he rolls 6 dice when attacking a stressed + obstructed foe at range 1 -- but he rarely lines up all the possible factors at once. So he more often shoots 4 or sometimes 5 dice, which is still nothing to sneeze at. (I have a similar list called Wullffwarro War Crimes that pools lots of different factors to add dice, and I agree, several factors can line up at once surprisingly often). Dengar is great at discouraging enemies shooting him, so lone wolf makes sense there (as he's more likely to live to late game unless they focus-fire him). Both are solid attackers, though Han is extremely situation-reliant and that can be trouble (bring large obstacles and place them with care). And they're both init 6 which is fantastic. One suggestion I have is maybe swapping Perceptive Copilot out for 0-0-0. This forces the opponent to either give you a free dice mod, or take a stress. That stress will feed Han's attack and inhibit them next round, so often they'll let you have the calculate token. That frees up Han's action for locking asteroids, dropping a debris cloud (see below), rotating his arc, etc. It's a devil's bargain for them, and Han wants to be at close range anyway. But it doesn't work at longer ranges, so it's something to keep in mind. Another suggestion is to free up enough points to upgrade Dengar's Adv. Proton Torpedoes to Proton Torpedoes. He wants to be at longer range in general, and standard protons are much easier to get out of the tube. With proton torps and a lock, you have 4 dice at ranges 2-3 with the torp or 4 dice at range 1 with your Primary. If you dump R3 Astromech and swap Perceptive Copilot out for 0-0-0, that's enough points. And/or you could remove Tactical Officer from Lando, since he can't use that until he's deployed anyway (and you generally want Lando docked as long as Han is alive; he's too valuable. A red coordinate is fine once he's deployed, those points are valuable elsewhere). Consider swapping Han's Contraband Cybernetics for Rigged Cargo Chute. It uses an action, but used decisively on a pursuer, once per game it grants precisely what Han needs: an obstructed attack against a stressed ship. >:) That stress can also be a nightmare for the pursuer when they're trying to stay on Han's rear end, or need to k-turn etc. Giving Dengar Spare Parts Canisters has similar benefits (see below), but the cloud is smaller. You could swap R3 Astro out for R5-P8 on Dengar. That's a free reroll 3x per game with a small risk (1/8 chance to crit yourself when using the reroll). Dengar's whole life is that front arc, so it's a great astro for him. And if you free up enough points elsewhere, you could afford Spare Parts Canisters for either more R5-P8 uses, or more often, dropping a stress cloud for Han's benefit and wiping locks off of Dengar. Another thing to consider, but not necessarily pursue, is to shed anything you don't need to create a point bid, which lets you choose who has the first player token at the start of the game (which matters when facing other aces). You have init 6 ships, so a bid can be really handy for repositioning, rotating arcs, and knowing who to target lock. If you can choose to go last (or sometimes first, depending on what your foe is flying), that can be helpful. Unfortunately Han and Dengar's repositions are red (boost and barrel roll), so their repositions are often not desirable, and it's pricey to turn those actions white with Engine Upgrade (7) and Expert Handling (6), and it displaces Electronic Baffle and Lone Wolf. Pricey indeed, so it may not be worth it in this particular list, but it's something to consider all the same. Swapping Lone Wolf for Expert Handling is an option though, since that's only +1 points if you're willing to lose the reroll. That said, Dengar often has better uses for that action, so it's still something you'll have to feel out and see if you like it. BTW, Greedo is interesting. He's a potentially serious liability unless you're shooting first, so be aware of that. If you're going up against other aces, you might or might not want to choose to go first (see below). But it'll almost always be your opponent's choice since agile ace lists like to invest deeply in an initiative bid, and you likely do not want to throw those points away trying to compete with their bid (again, you don't benefit as much as they do from the bid). And there's an interesting bid choice here -- if they choose to go first, they're not getting their all-important repositions, but in return they get a free hit->crit conversion, which might be tragic for Dengar depending on what crit he draws each time. If they choose to have you go first, they get to arc-dodge etc like normal, but you're enjoying your Greedo conversion with no downside. They'll probably choose repositions over the free crit, but with that choice in their hands, they can choose the crit if that happens to be better (e.g. if they're flying non-agile aces like yours). I don't know if Greedo is clearly overall good or bad here... just very interesting. I like how that messes with the First Player decision, makes it more complicated. That said, any time you're fighting foes below init 6 (that don't have any init 7 shenanigans like Han Gunner), Greedo is unambiguously delightful for you. While I'm wary of Greedo, I say keep him unless you find he's a problem too often. The only other gunners I'd want instead would be Hotshot Gunner (rob foes of their token before Han attacks or they attack, which can be very helpful) or Agile Gunner. For Agile, Dengar's entire world is that front arc (pilot ability, title, R5-P8 if equipped), and his rotate action is red; Agile Gunner is a way to rotate the arc without stress. The normal way to play Dengar is to never ever use the rotate action, even if that means no shots for a round or two. So on turns where he knows in advance he simply cannot manage a front arc, this helps him, and later it helps him put it back to the front... Only downsides are price and telegraphing your next round maneuver. Both of those gunners are quite expensive (7 and 8 points compared to Greedo's 1), and Dengar can do alright without them. So either keep greedo or leave the slot empty. I hope that gives you some helpful feedback and ideas! IMO, if you keep your list the same, that might be perfectly fine! Don't think everything needs to change. But a few swaps like 0-0-0, Proton Torpedoes, and R5-P8 could also be pretty nice IMO. Have fun!